Schneiderman Victims: Share Your Thoughts on the Settlement

Wells Fargo, Citi, Ally/GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America just sealed a deal with 49 State Attorneys General that will release them from liability for out-right defrauding millions of homeowners. In exchange, families defrauded by the banks can apply for what amounts to 2 months rent ($1,800-$2,000) compensation for losing their homes.

As former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Kouril said on FDL this morning, “The court system will be permanently corrupted by forged and perjurious documents…This settlement is an incredible breach of the social contract between the government and the governed.”

We are especially disappointed in the “Justice Democrats” — particularly Attorney Generals Eric Schneiderman and Kamala Harris — whose complicity proves that any faith in their moral fiber or independence was misplaced. When Timothy Geither and the Obama White House pressed them to fold, they did so. At a time when America needs leaders to fight for justice and accountability, they chose to advance their own careers by protecting the corporations and bankers of the oligarch class — hoping that a few press releases filled with platitudes echoed through an expensive propaganda machine will fool a credulous public.

Unlike some who laid ground cover for this carnage by hailing Schneiderman a hero but remain silent today, we will not allow this deal — and what it means to the victims of foreclosure fraud — to be buried under a mountain of pro-settlement propaganda.

Schneiderman Victims: Share Your Thoughts on the Settlement

Wells Fargo, Citi, Ally/GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America just sealed a deal with 49 State Attorneys General that will release them from liability for out-right defrauding millions of homeowners. In exchange, families defrauded by the banks can apply for what amounts to 2 months rent ($1,800-$2,000) compensation for losing their homes.

As former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Kouril said on FDL this morning, “The court system will be permanently corrupted by forged and perjurious documents…This settlement is an incredible breach of the social contract between the government and the governed.”

We are especially disappointed in the “Justice Democrats” — particularly Attorney Generals Eric Schneiderman and Kamala Harris — whose complicity proves that any faith in their moral fiber or independence was misplaced. When Timothy Geither and the Obama White House pressed them to fold, they did so. At a time when America needs leaders to fight for justice and accountability, they chose to advance their own careers by protecting the corporations and bankers of the oligarch class — hoping that a few press releases filled with platitudes echoed through an expensive propaganda machine will fool a credulous public.

Unlike some who laid ground cover for this carnage by hailing Schneiderman a hero but remain silent today, we will not allow this deal — and what it means to the victims of foreclosure fraud — to be buried under a mountain of pro-settlement propaganda.

Jane Hamsher

Jane is the founder of Firedoglake.com. Her work has also appeared on the Huffington Post, Alternet and The American Prospect. She’s the author of the best selling book Killer Instinct and has produced such films Natural Born Killers and Permanent Midnight. She lives in Washington DC.Subscribe in a reader